Dane101's contributors and readers continue to roll out our lists for 2007. This entry is from Jordan Cohen of Mama Digdown's Brass Band, to read them all click on "2007 Reflections" above.

1) Hot 8 Brass Band, Live at Jazzfest 2007 - Stunning live set from New Orleans' best brass band, available at Louisiana Music Factory and on iTunes.

2) Dizzee Rascal, Maths & English - The UK's #1 rapper largely leaves grime behind and makes the most listenable album of his career. There's barely a lowlight to be found here.

3) Battles, Mirrored - I'm still a little surprised by how much attention these guys have gotten this year, but that's no slight to them - it's only that twisty, mostly instrumental rock music rarely seems to get this much buzz. My favorite thing about Mirrored is how precisely they've developed the Battles vocabulary -- it's not like their music is without antecedents, but the sound is instantly identifiable. I like the crazier tracks on the record, but hope they make more music as straightforward (yet eccentric) as Atlas.

4) Shamarr Allen, Meet Me on Frenchman Street - Former Rebirth Brass Band trumpet player steps out and delivers an album of funky, classy New Orleans jazz (available online at Louisiana Music Factory).

5) Amerie, Because I Love It - This album still hasn't been officially released in the U.S., but the first half lines up some of the most kinetic, wide-screen r&b jams I've heard in ages. The second half sags, but who cares? That her breakthrough, Meters-sampling single "1 Thing" and the crunky "Losing U" are tacked on as bonus tracks doesn't hurt either.

6) Radiohead, In Rainbows - It's not my favorite Radiohead album, but there are some really pretty moments and I'm always going to check out what they come up with.

7) UGK, Underground Kingz - Earlier in the year I might have said that Underground Kingz is too much of a good thing. Now, thank god what turned out to be their last album is a double, and that the late, multi-talented Pimp C is all over it.

8) V/A, Shake, Twerk, & Wobble vol. 1 - Raw, lo-fi New Orleans bounce. I'm glad stuff like this is still being made! Available at CD Baby.

9) Harry Connick, Jr., Oh My NOLA - I love this set of songs performed with a stripped-down version of HCJ's big band, esp. his versions of "Yes We Can Can" and "Careless Love" and the Katrina confessional "All These People".

Honorary mentions:

To Be Continued Brass Band, Untitled (live recording sold by the band, only available at gigs)

Free Agents Brass Band, Untitled (great record, hopefully out in '08)

Prince, Planet Earth

Bumps, s/t

Bob French, Marsalis Music Honors Series

Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga (don't ask me why I never actually bought this, because I don't know)

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Raising Sand (ditto, though I listened to it every day for a week on Luisterpaal)

Videos:

Spoon, "The Underdog" - Single take music videos are so great.

Snoop Dogg, "Sexual Eruption" - So much better than the song by itself.

Looking forward to in '08:

The Blind Boys of Alabama, Down in New Orleans

Erykah Badu, Nu AmErykah

Tortoise

new brass band stuff